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Medieval Britain
This series tells the story of Britain from the coming of the Romans to the present day. 'Medieval Britain' covers Norman trade and industry, the Magna Carta, the birth of Parliament, the black death, and the Hundred Years War.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published December 12, 1994
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January 6, 2021
I do enjoy this 'History of Britain' series and although the Medieval period is not particularly my favourite, Brenda Williams presents us with an excellent study of the people, the events and everyday life, the Norman settlement, medieval castles, the church, trade and industry, such as it was, guilds and crafts, towns and houses therein, the Wars of the Roses, the Black Death and other topics.
Of course it was all William's fault that the Normans took over, if only Harold hadn't taken one in the eye, things may have been different! Crowned in Westminster Abbey, William ruled for 21 years, although after 1071 he spent much of his time in Normandy and he left loyal barons in England to defend his throne. Initially he allowed English noblemen to retain their lands but later he decided to give up on this policy and he gave the lands to his Norman followers so that by the end of his reign there were only two English nobles who still held lands of importance. England had rapidly become Norman; its nobles and bishops had Norman names, new buildings were Norman in style and although people still spoke English, church or government officials conversed in French and wrote in Latin.
He was, however, responsible for the Domesday Book as in 1085 he sent his officials around England to collect details of every village for this survey. His inquiries were so thorough that it was said, 'there was not ... even one ox, nor one cow, nor one pig which escaped notice'.
A chronicler in 1137 - by which time Stephen was on the throne - said of the Normans, 'They filled the land full of castles and filled them with devils and evil men'. And it was the castle that was the centre of local power; it was a law court and government office where the villagers paid their taxes and fines. It was also the local prison, if they did not pay! When Stephen, the last of the Norman kings, died in 1154, Henry II became monarch and he began to claw back some of the lawlessness that had become rife in the later part of Stephen's reign. Royal control was re-established.
Only second to royal control was the Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Becket filled that role, until he was killed by four knights, acting supposedly on Henry's behalf. And thinking of religion, the number of monks and nuns in England had grown from about 1,000 in 1066 to an astonishing 13,000 by 1215.
Then when Henry II died, his son Richard I spent just six months of his 10-year reign in England, the rest of the time he was away fighting wars. When he died John became king and the Magna Carta was signed, which set down the English barons' feudal rights. But this did not stop a war between the barons and the king.
And mention of wars leads to the conquest of Wales when Edward I brought the country under English rule. But Edward died while preparing to lead his army for the sixth time into Scotland. Edward II took over and lost to Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Thirty-four years later the Black Death struck Britain and about a third of England's four million people died. And the 14th century ended in strife, there was a peasants' revolt, led by Wat Tyler, conflict between kings and nobles and an uprising in Wales. The worst of the riots were in Essex and Kent but Richard II quelled them. In doing so he seized John of Gaunt's estates and sent his cousin Henry Bolingbroke into exile. But Bolingbroke gained his revenge for when he returned to England he captured Richard and kept him prisoner while he took the crown as Henry IV.
And, of course, there was the Hundred Years' War that raged between England and France and ended in 1453. The English won most of the battles but when it did end, England only held a very small part of France. And war continued in England with the War of the Roses that continued from the 1450s to 1485. And this spelt the end of the medieval period as England was united under a noble from a third family, the Tudors. Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian exiled in France, landed in Wales and by defeating Richard III at Bosworth he won the crown as Henry VII. Then by marrying Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth, he united the sides that had opposed each other in the Wars of the Roses; the Tudor Age had begun!
The medieval royal family tree at the end is most helpful as is the list of famous people of the period. My two favourites of these people are, not surprisingly, William Caxton and Geoffrey Chaucer; Caxton setting up the first printing press at Westminster in 1476 and Chaucer writing 'The Canterbury Tales - what a pity he could not quite finish it!
Brenda Williams has given us an excellent overview of medieval England and it is a firm basis to take the study further if one wished.
Of course it was all William's fault that the Normans took over, if only Harold hadn't taken one in the eye, things may have been different! Crowned in Westminster Abbey, William ruled for 21 years, although after 1071 he spent much of his time in Normandy and he left loyal barons in England to defend his throne. Initially he allowed English noblemen to retain their lands but later he decided to give up on this policy and he gave the lands to his Norman followers so that by the end of his reign there were only two English nobles who still held lands of importance. England had rapidly become Norman; its nobles and bishops had Norman names, new buildings were Norman in style and although people still spoke English, church or government officials conversed in French and wrote in Latin.
He was, however, responsible for the Domesday Book as in 1085 he sent his officials around England to collect details of every village for this survey. His inquiries were so thorough that it was said, 'there was not ... even one ox, nor one cow, nor one pig which escaped notice'.
A chronicler in 1137 - by which time Stephen was on the throne - said of the Normans, 'They filled the land full of castles and filled them with devils and evil men'. And it was the castle that was the centre of local power; it was a law court and government office where the villagers paid their taxes and fines. It was also the local prison, if they did not pay! When Stephen, the last of the Norman kings, died in 1154, Henry II became monarch and he began to claw back some of the lawlessness that had become rife in the later part of Stephen's reign. Royal control was re-established.
Only second to royal control was the Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Becket filled that role, until he was killed by four knights, acting supposedly on Henry's behalf. And thinking of religion, the number of monks and nuns in England had grown from about 1,000 in 1066 to an astonishing 13,000 by 1215.
Then when Henry II died, his son Richard I spent just six months of his 10-year reign in England, the rest of the time he was away fighting wars. When he died John became king and the Magna Carta was signed, which set down the English barons' feudal rights. But this did not stop a war between the barons and the king.
And mention of wars leads to the conquest of Wales when Edward I brought the country under English rule. But Edward died while preparing to lead his army for the sixth time into Scotland. Edward II took over and lost to Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Thirty-four years later the Black Death struck Britain and about a third of England's four million people died. And the 14th century ended in strife, there was a peasants' revolt, led by Wat Tyler, conflict between kings and nobles and an uprising in Wales. The worst of the riots were in Essex and Kent but Richard II quelled them. In doing so he seized John of Gaunt's estates and sent his cousin Henry Bolingbroke into exile. But Bolingbroke gained his revenge for when he returned to England he captured Richard and kept him prisoner while he took the crown as Henry IV.
And, of course, there was the Hundred Years' War that raged between England and France and ended in 1453. The English won most of the battles but when it did end, England only held a very small part of France. And war continued in England with the War of the Roses that continued from the 1450s to 1485. And this spelt the end of the medieval period as England was united under a noble from a third family, the Tudors. Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian exiled in France, landed in Wales and by defeating Richard III at Bosworth he won the crown as Henry VII. Then by marrying Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth, he united the sides that had opposed each other in the Wars of the Roses; the Tudor Age had begun!
The medieval royal family tree at the end is most helpful as is the list of famous people of the period. My two favourites of these people are, not surprisingly, William Caxton and Geoffrey Chaucer; Caxton setting up the first printing press at Westminster in 1476 and Chaucer writing 'The Canterbury Tales - what a pity he could not quite finish it!
Brenda Williams has given us an excellent overview of medieval England and it is a firm basis to take the study further if one wished.
Displaying 1 of 1 review